Roy Allan Finch was found guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a Des Moines woman. Roy was sentenced to mandatory life in prison for the death of Dianne Laurence, 43, whose body, with 225 stab wounds, was found July 4, 1989, in her apartment at 3326 University Avenue. Roy had also lived at the apartment at one time.

A stab wound to the right side of her neck is the wound that killed her. There were bruises on her face and she suffered stab wounds to her arms, hands, chest, a leg and other parts of her body. The medical examiner said she probably died within a minute from the wound in her neck, which severed an artery in the jugular vein.

Roy’s lawyer told jurors that Roy was in Colfax at the time of Dianne’s death. The day before Dianne’s body was found, a security guard at Drake University saw a car leaving the area of her apartment early in the morning. He said the car did not have its lights on and was traveling at a high speed. The guard noticed two men in the car and one had blood on his face. There were also fingerprints on a cup in Dianne’s apartment that did not belong to Dianne or Roy.

The Assistant Polk County Attorney, however, told the jury that Roy told his brother, Gary, that he had done something bad and “killed the lady.” She said Roy also told his brother that he was high on drugs at the time of the stabbing. Another brother, James, suspected that Roy was involved in the murder.

Roy turned himself in and then was treated at a hospital for a cut on his left arm. While at the hospital, Roy said he had been using crack cocaine and had been drinking heavily.